The GrowSF Report: Breed launches “aggressive” encampment sweeps
PLUS: New bill gives welfare recipients extra $400 for avoiding drugs
What You Need To Know
- Mayor Breed launches “aggressive” encampment sweeps
- Former SF SAFE executive faces 34 felonies for misusing over $700,000 in public funds
- New bill gives welfare recipients extra $400 for avoiding drugs
- SF group says it solved the math on affordable housing, but did they?
- Our weekly election coverage: Where the candidates stand on fentanyl policy
Recent & upcoming openings:
- Sco’s, a new restaurant specializing in ceviche and Micheladas, is newly open in Bayview
Breed launches “aggressive” encampment sweeps
Following Newsom’s call for Mayors to take action on homeless encampments, this week Mayor Breed ordered that all large encampments be cleared. It was a sudden, if not unexpected, surge in enforcement against tent encampments, coming just 97 days before election day.
We asked a representative from the Mayor’s office if all people were offered shelter, and we were assured that everyone involved in this operation did so. And a statement from the Department of Emergency Management confirmed that their teams always offer shelter.
Unfortunately, the fact remains that San Francisco has a dire shortage of shelter space, and has not taken the necessary actions to build that shelter space over the past several decades. It’s the failure of everyone in City Hall for at least thirty years that got us to this point.
Former SF SAFE executive faces 34 felonies for misusing over $700,000 in public funds
Significant funds meant for community safety have been allegedly misused by Kyra Worthy, the former executive director of SF SAFE. Worthy was arrested and charged with 34 felonies for misappropriating over $700,000 in public funds for personal use.
Prosecutors claim that Worthy spent lavishly on events and luxury items, and also engaged in wage theft from employees. The 48-year-old nonprofit closed in January.
Many community members feel disappointed; Funds that were supposed to enhance public safety and support vital programs were instead squandered. We need stronger oversight to make sure nonprofit organizations are held accountable.
New bill gives welfare recipients extra $400 for avoiding drugs
Supervisor Matt Dorsey's new "Cash Not Drugs" initiative could provide an additional $400 monthly to welfare recipients who test negative for drugs. His proposal supports Proposition F, a new measure this year that requires those addicted to drugs to enter treatment in order to qualify for city funds. Single adults without children could see their monthly assistance increase from $712 to $1,112 under this plan.
“This is more carrot than stick,” Dorsey told the San Francisco Standard. “It’s a pretty promising approach.”
We're hopeful that this program will make a significant difference. The pilot program will run for three years, and if it works, it could grow to include a wider swath of San Francisco and help more of our residents break their addictions.
SF group says it solved the math on affordable housing, but did they?
The Bay Area Housing Innovation Fund’s latest project is a 145-unit apartment for low-income seniors, which is expected to cost $520,000 per unit and be completed in two years.
This is much lower than the $1 million per unit many other subsidized housing projects cost, but also considerably more than what modular housing projects like 833 Bryant achieved. The Tipping Point foundation was able to build that for just $385,000 per unit using modular housing (and was union built, too!).
But the SF Building Trades oppose modular construction since it’s built in an East Bay factory instead of on-site by SF workers, so 1633 Valencia opted to avoid the political fight and just pay more. So… we’re a little skeptical that they’ve actually solved the math here.
The road to November
Now that ballots drop in less than 90 days, expect election updates every week.
Where the candidates stand on fentanyl policy
Voters tell us that one of their top issues in the November 5, 2024 election is the fentanyl crisis in San Francisco. To help you make an informed decision, we've researched the candidates' positions on fentanyl policy.
All answers were drawn from the GrowSF candidate questionnaire, which was sent to all candidates on the ballot. For the candidates who did not respond, we researched their public statements and voting records.
Your Action Plan
Now that you know what’s happening, help us shape what happens next:
Join us for the August edition of our monthly happy hour! Note that this month's is on Monday.
WHEN: August 12, 2024 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
WHERE: Orbit Room, 1900 Market St.
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Help GrowSF grow! Share our newsletter with your friends. The bigger we are, the better San Francisco will be.
Recent & upcoming openings
A great city is constantly changing and growing, let’s celebrate what’s new!
Ceviche specialist Sco’s comes to Bayview
Sco's brings a seafood twist to the Bayview with a touch of street-style eating. Opening in mid-July, their menu features ceviches paired with micheladas, including casual beers like Corona, Pacifico, and a 40 oz. Miller High Life. Keep an eye out for their chile-encrusted Modelos and ceviche with tostadas.
WHERE: 1730 Yosemite Ave., San Francisco
The Spirit of San Francisco
There’s a lot to love about our city and the Bay Area. Here’s what makes it great. Brought to you by The Bold Italic.
What we’re doing this week
LoveFest SF free block party
Love Fest SF is a community arts and music event is taking place for the first time in San Francisco’s Tenderloin Neighborhood; Experience an all day free music and arts festival with 3 stages spanning 2 blocks on Larkin Street between Eddy and O’Farrell from 11am-6pm featuring local DJs and artists in direct support of small businesses and love for the TL. The only thing to break a doom loop is a road block party made from love.
WHEN: Today, August 3, 2024 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
WHERE: 730 Larkin St., San Francisco
Outside Lands returns
August is here, and Golden Gate Park is gearing up for Outside Lands 2024, set to bring the city together from the 9th to the 11th in between our foggy avenues. Headliners like The Killers and Sturgill Simpson promise electrifying performances. Tyler, the Creator exited in June and was replaced by Sabrina Carpenter.
Outside Lands isn’t just about the music; it is a celebration of Bay Area food and culture. New additions this year include an open-air dance party instead of the crowded SOMA tent, and apparently now you can get married at OSL?
WHEN: August 9-11
WHERE: Golden Gate Park
What we’re writing about
SF’s summer of love is at Stern Grove Festival
By now we’ve all had an unbearable amount of the doom-loop conversation and want to move beyond it; Some people are now releasing love letters to San Francisco while others declare it’s our best summer ever. The Bold Italic agrees.
We experienced joy recently at San Francisco’s Embarcadero rave and now again at Stern Grove Festival, where lots of families enjoyed music instead of scrolling on tiny phone screens. Service was shitty anyway, and we think attendees wanted to experience the moment of being enveloped in a forest.
Families, dogs, and local brews take over the Presidio
We enjoyed the Presidio this past Saturday for the second Parks4All: Brewfest, hosted by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. Despite the overcast skies, families, friends, and a large proliferation of dogs gathered on the Civil War Parade Grounds near the Presidio Tunnel Tops.
How I found the perfect pottery studio in San Francisco
“My days in 2020 were a blur of yarn, sourdough, and TikTok filters, each project a lifeline keeping my creativity afloat amid the pandemic. Coming out of that, I turned my mental health toward pottery. I think it’s the poetry of clay in your hands, shaping stories with each spin of the wheel, grounding me in the tangible after a year of virtual connections.”
Our writer explores how she found the perfect San Francisco pottery studio. They aren’t cheap, but you can find one that suits any skill level. Can’t pinch a teacup? That’s okay. We looked at 12 businesses, and this is what we found.
Kothai Republic: Korean and Thai flavors in the Inner Sunset
To meet Sung Park of Kothai is to meet a true restaurateur. This humble but light-filled restaurant in the Inner Sunset belies the creativity on a menu where Korea-meets-Thailand in San Francisco skin. Park is not just a first-generation SF native, but has lived in the Sunset district his entire life, and in the Inner Sunset roughly 36 years.
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